U.S. Magazine Reveals Trump’s Strategy to Pressure Iran Through FATF
WANA (Nov 11) – The American magazine Foreign Policy has revealed details of U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed strategy to pressure Iran, which reportedly includes using the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as a tool to tighten financial restrictions on Tehran.
According to the report, Trump’s first anti-Iran directive during his second term came just weeks after returning to the White House, focusing on “controlling” Iran through FATF. The magazine described FATF as a potential alternative mechanism to fill the “vacuum left by the paralysis” of UN Security Council sanctions.
Foreign Policy acknowledged that the UN Security Council’s sanctions regime has become ineffective, arguing that a parallel mechanism is needed to enforce global restrictions, and FATF could play that role.
Established in 1989 by the G7 and the European Commission, FATF is an intergovernmental body that sets international standards to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. As of 2025, 40 countries are full members, while more than 200 others follow its recommendations through regional organizations.
Despite lacking a legally binding authority, FATF wields significant influence. Countries placed on its blacklist are effectively cut off from the global financial system, losing access to foreign investment and international banking services.
In 2012, FATF expanded its mandate to include combating the financing of weapons proliferation. Under Recommendation 7, member states are required to enforce targeted financial sanctions consistent with UN Security Council resolutions to prevent the spread and funding of weapons of mass destruction.
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Foreign Policy suggested that FATF could tighten enforcement mechanisms to compensate for the UN’s current limitations. As a technical and consensus-based organization, FATF can compel its members to comply with sanctions more effectively and develop global standards to curb illicit financial networks.
The magazine noted that FATF’s advantage lies in its integration with the global financial system — countries blacklisted by FATF face severe economic isolation, even if the UN is unable to act due to political deadlock or vetoes.
To play a stronger role, the report recommended expanding FATF’s scope to include new types of sanctionable activities, such as cryptocurrency exchange hacking and complex proxy financial networks. This would allow FATF to become a complementary enforcement arm to the UN’s sanctions regime.
FATF. Social media/ WANA News Agency
Ultimately, the report concluded that with the Security Council gridlocked, FATF could emerge as an alternative and effective mechanism for strengthening sanctions and countering nuclear proliferation. Through global financial pressure and standardized enforcement, FATF could help member states implement sanctions more efficiently.
Trump’s Directive to Target Iran Through FATF
On February 4, 2025, just weeks after beginning his second presidential term, President Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum No. 2 (NSPM-2) — part of his “Reconstructed Maximum Pressure” policy against Iran.
The order instructed the U.S. Treasury Department and other financial agencies to enhance cooperation with FATF and use its mechanisms to increase financial pressure on Iran.
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Section (v) of the memorandum explicitly directs Washington to:
- “Maintain countermeasures against Iran within FATF,”
- “Review beneficial ownership thresholds to ensure all illicit Iranian revenue sources are blocked,” and
- “Evaluate whether banks should apply ‘Know Your Customer’s Customer’ (KYCC) standards in Iran-related transactions to prevent sanctions evasion.”
Foreign Policy concluded that through such directives, the Trump administration seeks to transform FATF into a parallel sanction-enforcement network, compensating for the limited effectiveness of the UN’s own mechanisms.
